Allow me to state right off the bat that I do not want or need another dissertation from you on the on the budget reconciliation process, nor on why you believe that healthcare ‘reform’ in any of its current proposed forms is good for us, the little people. We get it. We know where you stand. What I need -you- to understand is that a majority of your constituents and the American people in general do not want the federal government taking over and thereby destroying the health care and health insurance industries, along with what’s left of our national economy.

Senator, we’ve petitioned you with fact-based, reasoned and rational arguments against the nationalization of the healthcare system, and you’ve responded with almost an entire year of “It is an honor to serve as your United States Senator, and I appreciate your patience as I transition into this new role” , with only the occasional foray into feel-good political rhetoric and ‘politics 101′ descriptions of the process. Not once have you ever directly or honestly addressed the issues.

Not once.

In the 2008 presidential election, N.C. went for Obama by by only three-tenths of one percent. Look at NJ, look at Virginia, both states that voted for Obama by a much broader margin in ’08, and which have now swung wildly in favor of the GOP in the latest elections.

I realize you have five more years in office, but I think you’ll find that that the historically short memory of the American voter can no longer be counted on as a safe bet to save your seat come election time. Vote in favor of any of the proposed healthcare bills at any stage of the process, and your constituents - the people whose futures you are throwing away – will remember. Those who don’t will be reminded.

Understand this, Senator – if you vote to advance any of the proposed healthcare bills and the shameless, disgraceful assault on liberty that they represent, not only will I not vote for you, not only will I turn the votes of at least a dozen people in my immediate circle towards your opponent whoever he/she may be; I will work tirelessly to see you voted out of office ­ I will organize like-minded taxpayers, fund raise, man phone banks, use every social networking and website technology at my disposal…..I will sweat blood to ensure you’re voted out of office in 2014.

I posted last night about the counter-protests that were being organized for today, July 9th, against moveon.org’s pro-socialized healthcare rallys that were being held at senator’s offices throughout the country. I’m happy to report that at Kay Hagan’s office here in Raleigh, the turnout for our side was great.

I got there late – got stuck on a job and couldn’t get away until well after the rally’s noon start time – and showed up with sign in hand just as it was breaking up. There were still enough of us there though that people were driving by and honking/shouting in support of our side though, so I made sure to walk around with my sign displayed for a few more minutes before heading back to work.

Whatever the actual numbers, everyone seemto agree that there were more of us than them. That’s significant for a couple of reasons:

This was the middle of a work day with very short notice

We were coming out against a very well funded, well organized and generally well-oiled machine in moveon

Raleigh is a college town and has a growing liberal population

As good as the turnout was, I’m under no illusion that we actually accomplished anything today with Hagan. She has at least partially caved to moveon’s threats of airing attack ads if she didn’t come out in support of a ‘public option”, but I still have been unable to find a definitive statement from her one way or the other. When in doubt, continue to hammer away. If you’re a North Carolina resident, keep the pressure on Senator Hagan right up until the vote is closed.

Here is a list of Dem senators who, as of July 8th, still did not support the ‘public option’. I’ve lifted this list from talkingpointsmemo.com and added the D.C. phone numbers and web links to each senator’s individual website (click on the name). Each and every one of these senators needs to hear from us. Let them know that you donotsupport the public option:

(202) 224-3004
Very little available about his opinion on the public option. He’s from a weird state (sorry Alaskans). His next election isn’t until 2014. I’m going to put his as a conditional tough sell until I learn more.

(202) 224-3841
Seems determined to avoid outright opposition to the public option, though it’s clear she does not like it. Gets lots of $$ from insurance companies. Says criticism from left does not bother her. She has reason to worry, though, as her constituency is very liberal and probably very passionate about a public option.

(202) 224-2651
He’s been trying to compromise with Republicans by offering them compromises that don’t include a public option, but he has said the public option is ‘on the table’, and he said he opposes the public option merely because it won’t get enough votes, not on substance.

(202) 224-4843
Wrote a column today saying “Options should include private plans as well as a quality, affordable public plan or non-profit plan that can accomplish the same goals as those of a public plan.” The nonprofit concept almost certainly won’t be included in the final bill.

Like many of you, I occasionally (actually a lot more than just occasionally since The One took over) have cause to email my representatives about current issues. Also like many of you, I have the extreme misfortune of having Kay Hagan as one of my Senators.

I’d like to send Kay Hagan an email saying something to the effect of “I know you’re ‘transitioning into your new role’ in the US Senate and all, but at what point are you going to remember who it is you represent?”

I imagine her response would go something like this:

“hey there constituent, thanks for writing me! As you know, I’ve been spending my time here in Washington voting the party line, including voting for passage of the stimulus bill (did I read it? Of course not, silly, nobody did!) and generally doing whatever I can to make sure that the President views me favorably in case, you know, he ever finds himself looking for a new wife or something. But anyway I do want you to know that even though I could care less about your concerns, I do read each and every email constituents such as yourself send me. Thanks for writing!”

But, of course, that won’t happen. However, I do know what her answer will be all the same, because she seems to have only oneanswer to any question or comment you may send her way.

I have personally emailed her office four times since January of this year. Each of my emails was responded to after a ridiculous length of time – average turnaround time has been a whopping two months – with the following canned non-response:

Dear Friend,

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts and opinions. Since taking office, I have received an overwhelming number of calls and emails from North Carolinians like you who are ready to take an active part in our government. I appreciate each and every call and email. With our country facing some of its toughest challenges in a generation, your phone calls and messages are an important factor guiding my work here in Washington. Please be assured that we will get back to you as soon as possible regarding your specific concern.

I would like to take this opportunity to share my website with you. Please visit http://Hagan.Senate.Gov to find contact information for my offices and to stay updated as my new state offices open. You can also find information there about what I’ve been doing in North Carolina and Washington. It is an honor to serve as your United States Senator, and I appreciate your patience as I transition into this new role. I sincerely hope you will not hesitate to contact me at any time to share your concerns and voice your opinions on our country’s most pressing issues.

Yours truly,

Kay R. Hagan
United States Senator, North Carolina

OK, I realize she can’t personally respond to each and every email she receives, especially on issues like the shamulus bill, over which I’m sure she was getting slammed with email. However, the above is the exact email she’s been replying with for months, which might lead one to ask, well, just how long is it going to take her to ‘transition into this new role” and start paying attention to the concerns of her constituents?

A friend of mine, similarly frustrated with our do-nothing senator’s non-responses, sent her the following:

I’ve sent two or three e-mails regarding several issues and get canned replies indicating that your office is overwhelmed and that you’re transitioning into your new role. My question is whether or not any e-mails are actually read and if I should continue to spend the time expressing my concerns.

Thank you.

Predictably, he received the exact same canned response.

It’s bad enough that she has been on the wrong side of every single major issue that has crossed her desks in the months since she’s taken office, but she doesn’t even pretend to read, or even have someone in her office read, any correspondence addressed to her.

This woman is useless.

As a quick reminder, Kay Hagan:

Voted for (without first reading or understanding) The $787 billion Stimulus Bill HR1

Voted against an amendment to HR1105 that would have extend the highly successful E-verify program in the Omnibus bill, thereby further facilitating North Carolina and the Nation’s illegal immigration problem, and illustrating once again her great love for North Carolina’s illegal alien population even as her home state’s unemployment rate skyrockets.

Supports ‘card check’ which, contrary to what she may think or want you to think, as well as being contrary to her ‘pro-worker’ rhetoric, is all about empowering the union at the expense of the worker.

…and on and on it goes.

Hagan should take note of NC State Senator Neil Hunt, who not only gives contextually relevant replies to his constituents emails, but also appears to do so personally.

So here we are in the midst of a global recession. Nationwide unemployment as of this writing sits at 8.1%, while North Carolina’s unemployent is a whopping 9.7%. That’s the sixth-highest rate of unemployment in the country, and the one month increase of 1.6% between December and January is (along with Oregon and South Carolina) the highest in the country.

It would be expected then that our elected officials would be doing anything and everything they could to protect and preserve North Carolina jobs. One very obvious way to do this would be to ensure that employers hire ONLY those of us who are in the United States legally. A no-brainer, right?

Yesterday, the US senate defeated an amendment to the $410 billion Omnibus Appropriations bill (H.R. 1105) that would have provided a long-term extension of the E-verify program through 2014. Among those voting to table (kill) the amendment was our very own Senator Kay Hagan.

E-Verify, for those who aren’t familiar with it, is a highly accurate internet-based system that provides an automated link to federal databases to help employers determine employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security numbers.

E-verify is authorized in the omnibus bill, though only through September of this year after which it is expected to be used as a bargaining chip by congressional democrats in their quest for a new mass amnesty bill. A long-term extension of E-verify would deny democrats this bargaining tool, and well….we can’t have that, can we?

A reasonable person would see the long-term extension of E-verify as a good thing for obvious reasons, as would any elected official who gave even the slightest consideration the the well-being of the good people of their state; those who work hard, pay their taxes, follow and respect the law, and generally try to do the right thing .

But not our Kay Hagan. Predictably, she cast her vote in favor of the illegal aliens who are taking our jobs and the employers who hire them, and against the people of North Carolina – who, incidentally, pay her salary and were foolish enough to put her in office in the first place.